Whitings celebrate 75th wedding anniversary

Sat, Feb 9th 2019 06:55 am

The children of Rosemary and Richard (Bud) Whiting have announced the 75th wedding anniversary of their parents on March 4, 2019. The immediate family will celebrate on Saturday, March 2, with a luncheon at The Terrace at Delaware Park’s Marcy Casino.

Rosemary and Bud met in Buffalo while in their teens. Though the circumstances surrounding the first meeting remain amusingly in question, the family knows that many of their dates included a visit to Cole’s on Elmwood, now a favorite gathering place for the family. They were married on March 4, 1944, while Bud served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. They lived in Buffalo and Kenmore before settling on Grand Island in 1964. They remained on the Island for 47 years until their move to The Amberleigh (Williamsville) in 2011.

While raising their seven children, both were active in the community. Rosemary volunteered in the schools, with Girl Scouts, the American Red Cross, St. Stephen R.C. Church and as a class ambassador for her alma mater, Buffalo Seminary. Bud was an elder at Lafayette Presbyterian Church, where he had been a member since childhood; is a past president of the Grand Island Rotary Club; volunteered with Loaves and Fishes food pantry and the American Heart Association’s Hoops for Heart; and most recently joined with other veterans to provide the residents of The Amberleigh with a balcony-mount flag holder to fly the stars and stripes.

Blessed with good health and a fun-loving spirit, the couple enjoyed family camping trips, boating on their beloved Rosebud, and playing in weekly tennis leagues through the years and even into their early 90s. They cherish their friendships, many lifelong, and continue to forge new ones.

The Whitings’ children are: Scott (Carol) Whiting of California; Rich Whiting Jr. of Arizona; Rosemary (Don) Culbert, Winanne Conway, Connie (Rob) Fitzpatrick all of Grand Island; Jim (Barb) Whiting of Buffalo; and Diane (John) Lowe of North Carolina. They have nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.